Kane County

School districts work to comply with new law requiring CPR, AED training

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 5:30 a.m. CST

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(Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Mary and George Laman in front of a tree they planted in the front yard of their Campton Hills home in honor of their daughter, Lauren. Lauren Laman died in 2008 during a St. Charles North High School drill team practice and a nearby AED was never used. Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a bill that would require high school students to learn how to use an AED and learn how to administer CPR before being able to graduate.

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(Shaw Media file photo)

An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation.

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(Photo provided)

Former St. Charles North High School student Lauren Laman has inspired a bill that would require high school students to learn how to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and learn how to administer CPR before being able to graduate. Laman died in 2008 during a drill team practice and a nearby AED was never used.

George Laman, whose teenage daughter died six years ago after collapsing during a drill team practice at St. Charles North High School, hopes that a new, potentially lifesaving law she inspired is taken seriously by teachers and students.

“If you have an emergency situation, you don’t have time to think,” the Campton Hills resident said. “If you pay attention, you have a much better chance of being successful.”

The law took effect July 1 in time for the upcoming school year, which starts the week of Aug. 18 for districts in the Tri-Cities and Kaneland.

School officials for those districts said staff members would work this summer to ensure their curriculum and policies would be in compliance with the new law.

At least two school districts – Batavia Public School District 101 and Geneva School District 304 – already teach CPR and AED skills to students, officials said.

Lisa Meister, a Geneva High School health teacher and certified instructor with the American Heart Association, said students spend a unit learning CPR, AED and first aid for adults, children and infants, and they become certified in those areas.

“It means something for them to get certified,” she said, noting students have used it on job applications and for baby-sitting jobs. “They have that sense of pride on their face.”

In Batavia, CPR and emergency preparedness is included in health classes at the middle and high school levels, Chief Academic Officer Brad Newkirk said.

Even so, he said, the new law will prompt changes at Batavia. In addition to altering curriculum, he said, the district might need more equipment, and staff members need to figure out the initial logistical problem of providing AED and CPR training to all students – not just the underclassmen enrolled in health classes.

In 2009, George Laman filed a lawsuit against St. Charles School District 303, the high school and three coaches for negligence in his daughter’s death. Court records show Judge James Murphy dismissed the case with prejudice in 2012, meaning it can’t be refiled.

When the teen’s family first started efforts for the Lauren Laman Bill, “nobody said we had a chance,” Laman said.

Now that it’s law, he said it doesn’t matter to him how schools incorporate AED and CPR training in their curriculum. He wants commitment from teachers.

“It think it is time for the teachers to get on board,” Laman said. “This is an opportunity for teachers to set an example for their students and have the satisfaction of being able to save lives.”

Meister said she talks with her students about how people might act in an emergency. Some might experience fear, she said, and others might be willing to help if they aren’t in charge of a situation.

“The way we practice all these skills helps them feel more confident, so if they do have to be the person in charge they’re more comfortable with what they’re doing,” Meister said.